The Toolshed Terraces Receive their Deserved Attention

Our winter renovation projects are moving right along even though we are still waiting for rain.

The toolshed terraces have never really

Out of season. Photo by Shelagh Fritz

been overhauled in the years of the garden restoration project, other than the removal of forty years of overgrowth to allow the survivor plants some breathing room.

The terraces were built by the inmates of the Federal prison in the early 1940s and was tended up until 1963 when the prison closed. The Mediterranean plants, such as Chasmanthe, Echium, Aeonium, artichokes and Sedum praealtum have thrived, plus the tough Rose ‘Felicite et Perpetue’ is still holding its own. The majority of these plants put on a great spring show but by July, the garden is looking like the ugly duckling with no hint of really how pretty it is.

Other than needing plants to bloom throughout the year that will tolerate the dry, windy slope, we needed two main ingredients – better soil and an irrigation system.

Fresh compost ready to be mixed into the beds.

Normally, bringing in supplies to the island is a chore, but luckily, our compost pile provides rich compost. We did purchase chicken manure that was brought out on the monthly barge. We installed drip line irrigation so we will not have to wrangle the hose up and down the fragile terraces. Even though all of our chosen plants are drought tolerant, the plants will do better with weekly deep watering.

The succulents growing across the road provided inspiration for the corner of the terraces. We had Dudleya, Echeveria and Aeonium cuneatum on the island already from a planting project this past spring. The seagulls took a liking to the plants and we ended up rescuing the plants and placing them in the greenhouse to nurse them back to life. Let’s hope the seagulls leave them alone in this garden! A few larger Agave attenuata were planted as well to tie in with the established Agave.

Most of the succulents we propagated ourselves from island stock. Photo by Shelagh Fritz

We had taken cuttings of the Crassula ovata and these propagations were planted on lower terraces to carryon the block of plantings.

We also added Fremontodendron californicum (flannel bush) to this garden. And an interesting fact – this is the last plant that we needed back on the island from the plant lists that were mentioned in the 1996 book The Gardens of Alcatraz.

Karolina bringing our purchased plants from the Alcatraz dock to the work site. Photo by Shelagh Fritz

The Leonotis leonurus, lion’s tail, that was planted in the lawn borders have been receiving a hugs amount of attention, and so we added in more on the terraces to give a punch of orange throughout the summer and fall. Purple Limonium perezii were added in as well, as they are great for seaside conditions.

We wanted to add a bit more red and purple so we introduced Asclepias curassavica and purple trailing Lantana to the mix.

One thing that needs to be finished yet it to divide the surviving bearded iris! They don’t ever seem to slow down.

With the fence removed, visitors are now strolling past this garden to get a better look I can’t wait to see how the garden will only get better.